Craftsman goes from piloting vessels to building them

Sunday

Jan 26, 2014 at 6:00 AM

Houma resident Mark Duplantis has spent his life surrounded by boats.

Rachel WarrenStaff Writer

Houma resident Mark Duplantis has spent his life surrounded by boats.For decades, he worked on towboats, pushing barges up and down the Mississippi River. Today, he builds models of those same boats for customers across the country. Mark, now 58, started working for LeBeouf Brothers Towing when he was 15. At 19, he became a pilot for the Archer Daniels Midland Company.“At that time, I was the youngest pilot on the river,” he said. “I was just a kid.”Instead of pulling them along, like a tugboat does, Mark pushed the barges up and down waterways. He towed barges full of crops across the country.“I know the Mississippi River from the mouth of it to St. Paul, Minn.,” he said. “That was where I spent most of my time.”While a normal tow is 56 barges, Mark sometimes pushed more than that on his trips. He once pushed 72 barges down the Mississippi River; a record that he claims still stands today.“Most people don’t realize what a solid industry this is,” he said. “They’ll cross a bridge, see a boat and just say ‘Oh, it’s a boat.’ They don’t realize that it’s really the lifeline of our economy.” Mark first began creating replicas nearly 40 years ago. His first model was a gift to his son and had the words “Duplantis Towing Co.” stamped across the side.The original model was made of wood, but Mark soon discovered that plastic foam was an easier material to use.He covers the foam in a protective covering, which is similar to the plastic material used to make ice chests.Now that he’s retired, Mark takes orders for boats from all over the country. Many of his customers work on boats themselves.“There are so many people in this area who work on towboats,” he said. “There are a lot more here than people realize.”Mark doesn’t use blueprints or plans to create his models. Over time, he’s learned to craft each boat using photographs for reference.“That keeps me out of trouble with the shipyards,” he said. “I don’t use their designs.”His wife, Helen, said she’s impressed by her husband’s imagination.“He puts a lot of passion in his work,” she said. “To see it in his mind and to make it look just like that, takes a lot of creative ability.”After years of having her husband leave for work for weeks at a time, Helen, 60, said she enjoys that Mark’s latest business keeps him close to home.“He has such a passion for it,” she said. “He has such creativity.”Mark’s boats — one which sits in the New Orleans Saints’ corporate office — are completely customizable. He incorporates customer’s names, favorite colors and even favorite sports teams into the final product.On average, it takes him about 30 days to complete a project. Models cost $850-$1,500, depending on size and difficulty, which Mark says is one of the lowest prices he’s seen.While he’s created a fairly successful business building models for individuals and companies, the retired pilot also finds time to make boats for himself. “I was my first customer,” he said. “I have such a passion for it.”In a two-story metal building behind his Houma home, Mark has several of his favorite boats on display on the second floor, with the first used as his work shop. Many of them are models of the boats he worked on as a pilot or a captain.One display case even features a large boat pushing 72 barges, a constant reminder of one of his greatest accomplishments.Other pieces on display are models of the boats used on the television show “The Deadliest Catch,” an LSU-themed boat and a few boats modeled after the ones he worked on as a teenager.Most of the boats are made of plastic foam, but over time, Mark has gotten more creative. One of the models on display is made out of an old pizza box and another uses an entire boogie board as its hull.Regardless of how they’re made, Mark believes he won’t ever get tired of building new models.“For people that work on boats, there’s a saying that it gets into your blood,” he said. “Even though I retired, I still dream about these boats.”